Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Lowers Holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System decreased its holdings in Ares Management Co. (NYSE:ARES) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,879 shares of the asset manager’s stock after selling 671 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Ares Management were worth $1,749,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC grew its holdings in Ares Management by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 14,022 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $2,482,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Ares Management by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,799 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $496,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Ares Management by 67.0% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 162 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Ares Management by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 2,352 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $416,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ares Management by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 4,775 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $845,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 50.03% of the company’s stock.

Ares Management Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE ARES opened at $147.95 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $46.67 billion, a PE ratio of 72.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.23. Ares Management Co. has a fifty-two week low of $125.23 and a fifty-two week high of $200.49. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $175.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $169.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Ares Management (NYSE:ARES) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The asset manager reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.35 by ($0.12). Ares Management had a net margin of 11.35% and a return on equity of 16.64%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ares Management Co. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ares Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $1.12 per share. This is a boost from Ares Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Ares Management’s dividend payout ratio is 183.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Ares Management from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $166.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Ares Management from $224.00 to $217.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Ares Management from $215.00 to $187.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Ares Management in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Ares Management from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $173.83.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Bennett Rosenthal sold 69,809 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.01, for a total transaction of $11,239,947.09. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 30,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,861,052.91. This represents a 69.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider R. Kipp Deveer sold 78,933 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.02, for a total value of $14,998,848.66. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,150,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $218,523,000. This represents a 6.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 218,268 shares of company stock worth $37,431,786. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ares Management Company Profile

Ares Management Corporation operates as an alternative asset manager in the United States, Europe, and Asia. The company's Tradable Credit Group segment manages various types of investment funds, such as commingled and separately managed accounts for institutional investors, and publicly traded vehicles and sub-advised funds for retail investors in the tradable and non-investment grade corporate credit markets.